April 2021 Newsletter - Lutheran Church of the Redeemer Atlanta, GA

APRIL 2021

WWW.REDEEMER.ORG

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER ATLANTA, GA

APRIL 01

Maundy Thursday Individual Absolution 6:30 PM Zoom Link Worship 7:00 PM Online

April 03 Holy Saturday Family Easter Vigil 10:00 AM Zoom Link Easter Vigil 7:00 PM Online

APRIL 02

Good Friday Way of the Cross 12:00 PM Online Tenebrae Worship 7:00 PM Online

EASTER SUNDAY

APRIL 4, 2021 FESTIVAL WORSHIP LIVESTREAM 9:00 AM JAZZ TRIO

11:00 AM ORGAN AND BRASS

MUSIC AND WORSHIP Good Friday Choral Tenebrae Friday, April 2, 2021 | 7:00 PM “Since it is the middle of the Service of the Three Days, Good Friday begins abruptly, taking up where Maundy Thursday left off.

No procession, no hymn: the prayer of the day is followed by the readings, culminating in an extended passage from the Gospel of St. John. The Choir’s music responds to key points in the Passion story as it is told.

This year we sing the Gospel rather than reading it. Soloists from the Choir take the character roles as well as the narration, while the Choir sings the words of the crowds and respond at various points with stanzas of “Ah, Holy Jesus.” Though it is in a very simple, old style, the piece was written in 2013 by Erik Meyer, a Philadelphia church musician.

We had prepared the piece for 2020, and it seemed appropriate for this year. But how could we do it since the Choir could not rehearse or perform together? For 11 hours over two Sunday afternoons, the choir came to the church and recorded their parts individually.

Much like we did for Harvest Home, those 1,041 individual clips of music are being assembled to allow the choir to “sing together” once again. We are very grateful for the technologies that make this possible, and we know that you will find it hard to believe that we were never all in the room at the same time.

Because the music is so simple, the visuals of the choir singing are not very dramatic.

So early on, we decided to use fine art depictions of the Passion to help tell the story. But as I began to work primarily with the realistic paintings of Caravaggio, I understood that, this year especially, pictures of a European Jesus would not suffice.

Every day, Christians around the world pray “Our Father…”, and announce on Good Friday “The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” When we say the word “Our”, we claim Jesus’ incarnation “...for us and for our salvation...” Incarnation in every fleshly color of those who gather on Good Friday at the foot of the cross, emblem of God’s love for the whole world.

So this year, the Choir’s singing will be accompanied by depictions of Jesus from artists around the world, from the 14th century to the 21st. We pray that as the story of Jesus’ suffering and death is told, the juxtaposition of new music in an old style, with images old and new, familiar and unexpected, will be a vivid reminder of the breadth of God’s great love for all of us.

by David Hansen

WORSHIP Family Easter Vigil

Saturday, April 3 | 10:00 - 11:00 AM Zoom Worship | Link

Like last year, this service will be as interactive as possible and include opportunities for our families to participate and lead.

Follow this link for instructions on how to prepare (this is optional but will make the service more interactive for your family)

Easter Vigil Service

Saturday, April 3, 2021 | 7:00 PM | Livestream

The Vigil of Easter is the culmination of the service of the Three Days, which begins on Maundy Thursday. This powerful service is a journey from darkness to light and is the first of our resurrection celebrations.

This year, the Old Testament readings will all be dramatic retellings.

After a full year of pandemic, we will probably hear the wonderful Still in need of stories of God’s deliverance in a new and poignant way. Then we hear the resurrection story and celebrate God’s baptismal promises. Please devotion writers join us online at 7:00 PM contact Karen Medford for details at kmedford@redeemer.org

Holden Evening Prayer

Wednesday Evenings beginning April 14, 2021 7:15 PM | Livestream

FAITH FORMATION Pastor's Class

Wednesday nights | 6:00 PM Beginning April 14, 2021 Zoom Journey through the New Testament.

Each week we will look at one book from a historical, literary, and of course, theological perspective.

Using Mark Allan Powell's Introducing the New Testament, veteran Bible scholars and anyone wanting an introduction to the treasures of scripture are sure to find something new and interesting.

Pastor Jonathan's Book Group Tuesday nights | 5:00 PM Zoom

This group will start a new book on April 6, Passionate for Justice: Ida B. Wells As Prophet for Our Time, by Catherine Meeks

ADLA Liberation Theology Book Club 4th Saturday of the month 10:00 AM Zoom

Sponsored by the African Descent Lutheran Association – Southeastern Chapter, led by Pastor Ron Bonner See www.Redeemer.org for the link and upcoming books.

April 24: I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown

More information and links are available on www.redeemer.org

FAITH FORMATION

Mysteries of Faith Sunday morning | 9:00 AM Zoom

April 11 Paul Hermann will continue to lead a study of scripture from the vantage of Black Liberation Theology.

April 18 GUEST SPEAKER Dr. Rosetta E. Ross: Womanist Theology as Liberation Theology, Legacies and Developments Rosetta E. Ross is a professor of religion at Spelman College. She pioneered scholarly work on religion and Black women's activism in the U.S. civil rights movement. Ross was an early proponent of womanist theology. (And Pastor Ron is her husband.)

Be Still... And Journey

Sunday morning | 9:00 AM Zoom A women's group that shares their lives of faith and discusses books and articles. They gather at 8:45 and begin the book discussion shortly after 9:00.

Join April 11 as they start a new book.

YOUTH REDEEMER YOUTH GRADES 6-12 High School Sunday School Sundays | 10:00 AM

High

School

Parents

and

College

Parents Gathering Sunday, April 18 | 9:30 - 10:30 AM

This is fellowship-based and a great time

Come catch up and discuss what is going on in our lives with other High School Youth! We are following the Faith Lens Curriculum.

If

you

want

to

invite

any

friends, please reach out to Hillary.

to connect with other High School Parents and College Parents. Information will be sent out via email, Remind, and in the Redeemer

Sunday

Reminders

Constant

Contact. If you have any questions, please contact Carol McCloskey.

Middle School Parents Class Sundays April 11, 18, 25 | 9:30 -10:45 AM

Graduation Recognition Are you graduating this Spring? Did you graduate in December? All recent and soon-to-be

graduates

of

high

school,

college, and graduate school can contact Hillary Nelson by Wednesday, April 28, at hnelson@redeemer.org to find out what to submit to be featured in a video during our

This class meets when Confirmation Class

Graduate Recognition Sunday on Sunday,

meets. This is a great opportunity to meet

May 9. If you do not want to do a video, you

with other Middle School Parents and

can still submit information to Hillary to be

learn what is going on in Confirmation too.

featured in bulletin and newsletters.

Confirmation

Upcoming Youth Events

Sundays April 11, 18, 25 | 9:30 -10:45 AM

April 18-Youth Spring Mission Project

Confirmation is an important step in the

April 21-RSVPs due for End-Of-Year Youth

spiritual journey of our youth. Don’t forget

Party

to be working on your 3 Sermon Notes and

April 28-ELCA Youth Gathering Interest

missed class worksheets. They are due by

Meeting *email sent to those who are

the end of the semester.

eligible to attend

YOUTH Help Us Raise Some Dough: Online Youth Fundraiser for the ELCA Youth Gathering!

Help Support Our Youth!

Since we started fundraising on Tuesday, February 16, we have sold 201* Digital Dozen Certificates and have had a few donations. Our goal is to sell 250! Our fundraising will be going on till Easter Sunday (Sunday, April 4). $10 Digital Dozen Certificates are available for purchase and never expires! You can purchase for yourself, your family, or even for friends!

To order-you can do it here. A confirmation email will be sent from our youth email (youthministry@redeemer.org). Payment will be completed through Redeemer Giving. There is PayPal and Apple Pay through there too. We are trying to do it online, but if a check is easier for you please email Hillary.

Please put "Youth Fundraiser" in the comment. Digital Dozen Certificates will now be emailed on Fridays and will be sent out then upon completion of payment.

If you don't want to purchase a Digital Dozen Certificate and want to donate instead, please do so through the online options above.

If you have any questions, please contact Hillary. Thanks for supporting our youth!

*Count update as of 3/21/21

CONGREGATIONAL CARE New Congregational Care Ministry Team Throughout this past year, Redeemer’s Congregational Care Team has been actively at work, alongside many other ministry teams, to channel love, support, and resources out to our members in so many ways. With the launch of Redeemer’s new strategic plan and The Rev. Jenny McLellan now serving full-time as our Associate Pastor for Congregational Care, we’ve spent some time restructuring our ministry to better reflect the needs of our members and have recruited some dynamic members to lead the charge.

Paige Havens - Chair, Congregational Care Ed Kuehn - Council Liason Jojo Nelson - Stephen Ministry Representative Catharine Dressel - Vineyard Leader Support Peg Wyse - Visitation Ministry Facilitator Susan Cordell - Keystone Ministry Representative Diana Palma - Prayer Ministry Liaison Don Noland - New Member Facilitator With the pandemic at hand, building a new Congregational Care team has been like building the plane as you are flying it. The real-time needs of our members are greater than ever before, but our ministry team has answered the call every step of the way.

We are still in search of two more leaders to round out the team - a Caring Hands Ministry Coordinator and a Grief Resource Coordinator. The Caring Hands Ministry Coordinator will work to build a team of volunteers to help organize meal trains for members in need and provide transportation to medical appointments. The Grief Resource Coordinator will recruit members to communicate death announcements to key ministry leaders, send bereavement cards and grief books, maintain a list of grief support groups and facilitate funeral receptions. If you are interested in serving in one of these roles, or joining the work of any of our congregational care ministries, please reach out to Pastor Jenny to learn more. If you or someone you know needs support from our team, please let us know!

CONGREGATIONAL CARE

As the pandemic hit last year, we quickly launched a new Vineyard member care outreach program organized geographically. Members from all across the region stepped up to serve as Vineyard leaders to help be the eyes and ears of the church and the hands and feet of Christ as we had to move into a time of separation and seclusion. Our Vineyard leaders have been calling and checking in on our members and making sure that communication remained as strong as possible between our members, our pastors and our ministry teams. Our Vineyards have tried to provide a sense of community during these trying times. It is our hope that as we slowly begin a phase of re-entry our Vineyard network will grow stronger and our members will become more connected with fellow members in their neighborhoods like never before.

If by chance you don’t know who your Vineyard leader is or if you are interested in serving as a Vineyard leader in your community, please reach out to Pastor Jenny at jmclellan@redeemer.org

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Vaccination Information The vaccination site at Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been in operation since January, with operations led by Atlanta-Fulton Emergency Management Agency and the Fulton County Board of Health. This site will have significantly greater capacity after March 24 with additional resources brought by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Defense, making it the largest vaccination site in the Southeastern United States. The site will include additional onsite language translation, including ASL. Appointments will be available as late as 10 p.m. on some days.

The direct link for appointments is: https://gtavras.powerappsportals.us/ Appointments and more information can also be accessed through the Fulton County COVID-19 Vaccine landing page at www.fultoncountyga.gov/covidvaccine Appointments can also be scheduled through the Georgia Health Department Vaccine Scheduling Resource Line at (888) 457-0186, Monday – Friday 8 AM – 8 PM ET, Saturday – Sunday 8 AM – 5 PM ET

NEW CLASS OFFERING

AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE CLASS DESIGNED FOR BEGINNERS

APRIL 6 - NOV 23, 2021 TUESDAYS FROM 3:30 -5 :00 PM Because of the nature of the class, it will be limited to 20 students. Once you pre-register, you will be able to pick up a copy of the text from the Reception Desk at Redeemer. The text and the class are free.

The text is American Sign Language for Beginners: Learning Signing Essentials in 30 Days by Rochelle Barlow.

For more information, contact William Bolick.

Registration Link Click here for William's Bio

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

As most organizations have had to do, Hope thru Soap pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic and shifted its efforts to address the critical needs of food and hygiene insecurity amongst our most vulnerable populations. Since March 2020, Hope thru Soap has provided

approximately

300

showers

to

the

unsheltered

and

homeless communities in Atlanta. But did you know that they also offered over 14,000 meals, in excess of 65,000 pounds of food, over 10,000 hygiene kits, and nearly 200 haircuts? Redeemer has been proud to partner with Megan Roberts and her team at Hope thru Soap by offering a friendly and safe location for our midtown neighbors to enjoy a hot shower in a heated, converted vehicle. The first ‘shower event’ took place in our 4th street parking lot on March 5th. Participants were also provided with hygiene kits, clean clothes and additional items. Subsequent events in the 4th street lot are tentatively scheduled for April 24th, May 15th and June 12th. If you’d like to help or find out more about Hope thru Soap, go to: www.hopethrusoap.org or email them at info@hopethrusoap.org

APRIL BIRTHDAYS 1 Tori Adamson 1 Daniel Adrian 1 Reese Dumont 1 Ally Hattermann 1 Edward Scherlacher 2 Julian Glantz 2 Kennedy Mason 3 Shirley Glenn 3 Victoria Rubel 3 Austin Sanders 3 Danielle Stewart 4 Gabriel Adrian 4 Carol McCloskey 5 Charlie Anderson 5 Mendal Bouknight 5 Bob Boyd 5 Hope Englert 5 Eric Hassel 5 Caroline Legrand 5 Amanda Jo Thomas 6 Luka Feldman 6 Carrie Herold 6 Mary Hinely 6 Aaron Hobby 6 Derek Nowatzki 6 Mike Pfaff 7 Shurleen Dorough 7 Alexis Gilbert 7 Karin Greeson 7 Miriam Guthrie 7 Teri Hansen 7 Jonathan Keller 7 Brigitte Merkel 8 Dan Bello 8 Hanna Cramer 8 Pete Franetovich 8 Cheryl Madean 8 Peyton Mayo 8 Morris Mitchell 8 Mel Smith 9 Ina Braun 9 Luke Harrison 9 Nick Stolte 9 Henry Thomas 9 John Walker 9 Sam Wessinger 9 Joan Williams

10 Jessica Burnett 10 Bran Foster 10 Stephanie Hart 10 Peter McGaffigan 10 David Meilander 10 Grace Peterson 10 Fallon Ukpe 11 Beverly Christner 11 Lew Engle 11 Paul Hilburger 11 Hope Ogunsile 11 Maynard Zipf 12 Catharine Dressel 12 Creston Herold 12 Jennifer Isaacson 12 Jessica Wooten 13 Mahala Broad 13 Thatcher DuPriest 13 Calista Fortin 13 Linda Heisler 13 Art Mathews 13 Katherine McDermott 14 Eric Brewer 14 Walt Carpenter 14 Miriam Coonan 14 Sarah Hawbecker 14 Addison Liverman 14 Hayley Whitmore 15 Kennedy McWilliams 15 Helen Puckhaber 15 Carla Williams 16 Amy Carpenter 16 Belinda Heath 16 Charlie Moss 16 Ken Sexton 16 Cooper Wells 17Amelia Arslanian 17 Colin Banks 17 Christina Coursey 17 Andy Kmetz 17 Hubert Miedlar 17 Melanie Stolte 18 Herb Bastin 18 Kelly Charlson 18 Emily Claire 18 Tim Eastling 18 Abbie Lin Smith

19 Donna Ruder 20 Maggie Kyle 20 Christian McKeithen 20 Erik McKeithen 20 Richard Rudolph 20 Emma Schroer 21 Stephanie Greene 21 Cheryl Iverson 21 Alison Steinmetz 21 Dan Williamson 22 Heidi Brothers 22 Sharon Jeffries 22 Stephen Kolb 22 Erin Lolley 22 Caron Morgan 22 Matt Schafer 22 Tom Swanson 22 David Thomson 22 Kay Volan 22 Harold Webber 23 Jr. Dillard 23 Kai Dillard 23 Bill Ide 23 Danielle Lambert 23 Paul Walter 23 Alexa Whitmore 23 Brett Wise 24 Shari Herrity 24 Kendrick McWilliams 24 Virginia Peterson 24 Harmony Robinson 25 Julie Lawrence 25 Janet Sosebee 25 Wade Thornton 26 Michael Kien 26 Claire Puckhaber 26 Adison Wells 27 Sue Forstner 27 Heidi Hellman 27 Will Thomson 27 Lynette Walker 27 Kimmy Worth 28 Jenny Peterson 29 Debbie Herrity 29 James Mulford 29 Liam Puckhaber 29 Stellan Simo 30 Jack Rafferty